Pay Equity

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to male and female employees who preform work requiring equal effort, skill and responsibility. Yet today, wage disparities between women and men are evident in the private and public sectors and at every educational level. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which has repeatedly been introduced in Congress in recent years, would require employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work is truly a result of factors other than gender and would prohibit retaliation against workers who share their own salary information or inquire about their employer’s wage practices. The gender wage gap is smaller for union women than their nonunion sisters. The union advantage is clear for workers of color as well.